Mounting the engine in the middle instead of the front of a motor vehicle puts more weight over the rear tires, providing more traction and assistance to the front tires in braking. Mid-engine mounting also lessens the chance of rear-wheel lockup and entering a skid or spin out. Added weight on the rear tires may also improve acceleration on slippery surfaces. A mid-engine layout may also improve the efficiency of anti-lock brakes and traction control systems work better, by providing them more traction to control. In most motor vehicles, and in high-performance sports cars in particular, car handling requires balance between the front and rear wheels when cornering to maximize speed and corner handling. This balance is harder to achieve when the heavy weight of the engine is located far to the front or far to the rear of the motor vehicle, but may be maximized with a mid-engine placement. These performance improvements make the mid-engine layout popular with high-performance sports cars.
Other performance improvements are obtained when the heavy mass of the engine is located close to the back of the seats. This placement improves the ability of the suspension to absorb the force of bumps so the driver feels a smoother ride. In high-performance sports cars, the increased suspension efficiency allows engineers to increase performance by applying stiffer shock absorbers with little impact to the driver
When the engine is not front-mounted and facing the wind, engine cooling becomes more difficult. Therefore, there is a need to direct air into the mid-engine engine room. Open vents may be applied, but there becomes a need to manage air and water in the engine room to prevent debris and water from being directed into the air intake system of the mid-engine.